If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already taken the first crucial step in your non-fiction book journey—crafting an introduction that instantly hooks readers and whets their appetite for what’s to come. (In case you need a refresher on nailing that make-or-break opening, be sure to check out my previous guide: “The Art of Writing Engaging Non-Fiction Introductions“) With that tantalizing overture out of the way, it’s time to turn our attention to what many authors consider the real heavy lifting: structuring the rest of your book for maximum comprehension, momentum, and mind-expanding ..read more

You know that feeling when you crack open a new book and the first few paragraphs just…grab you? Like some unseen hand has reached out, taken hold, and said “you’re not going anywhere until you’ve heard this story.” That’s the power of a truly killer non-fiction introduction. And man, is it an elusive skill to master! While novelists can lean on narrative tension or cliffhangers, us non-fiction writers have to hook readers through sheer persuasive might. With just a few brief paragraphs, we need to convince total strangers that our subject is fascinating, our perspective is unique, and our voi ..read more

Alright, fellow readers – who’s ready to take a delightfully witty and surprisingly biting romp through the extraordinary world of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? This iconic novel may follow the prim and proper social rituals of 19th-century English high society, but beneath those starched collars and perfectly fluffed Empire gowns lies a razor-sharp satire that holds up an unflinching mirror to the harsh realities of judgemental snobbery, ruthless social climbing, and the endless pursuit of finding genuine human connection amid relentless pressures to filter our most authentic selves. Int ..read more

What is Literary Analysis? Let’s be real here: how many of you book lovers have felt a little intimidated by the whole concept of “literary analysis” before? I totally get it. The term alone sounds frighteningly academic, like you need a PhD and an affinity for tweed to even attempt analyzing classic novels for their deeper meanings. But I’m here to let you in on a fun little secret: literary analysis doesn’t have to be this painful, joyless exercise in overanalyzing every last metaphor until you’ve utterly drained a book’s magic dry. In fact, when you get the hang of it, digging into a novel ..read more

Alright, who’s ready to get thoroughly creeped out and existentially questioning everything about modern society? Then buckle up, because we’re diving deep into the brilliant dystopian abyss that is George Orwell’s 1984 – quite possibly the most chilling, thought-provoking literary analysis of totalitarian control and human freedom’s fragility ever put to page. Introduction On its surface, this iconic novel operates as a gripping futuristic thriller following Winston Smith, a rookie rebel taking his first baby steps to undermine the totalitarian Party’s omnipresent surveillance state rulership ..read more

Ah, The Catcher in the Rye – the notorious little novel that has been raising middle fingers to superficial conformity for over 70 years now. Whether you read it as a angsty teen and saw yourself in Holden Caulfield’s cynical rebellion, or you’re discovering it for the first time as an adult, there’s no denying J.D. Salinger’s 1951 masterpiece casts an enduring spell. At its core, Catcher is a profound, witty and deliciously uncompromising exploration of adolescent alienation, disillusionment with society’s norms, and the painful realization that the innocence of childhood can’t last forever ..read more

Publisher: Knopf First Publication: 2022 Book Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Alright, my beloved nerds, geeks, and fans of epically quirky fiction – I’ve got the perfect book to shove directly into your eye-holes and soul-vessels. Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a sweeping, decades-spanning celebration of brilliant misfits, the ruthless video game industry, and a friendship so cosmically intertwined, it’ll make you believe in soul twins separated at birth by the cruelest of isolating forces…like being born to different parents or somet ..read more

Publisher: Harper First Publication: 2022 Book Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Okay folks, let’s dive right into Barbara Kingsolver’s latest tour de force, Demon Copperhead. Inspired by the classic David Copperfield story, this modern tragedy-meets-black-comedy takes us on one young man’s gritty, no-holds-barred journey through the deepest depths of modern-day Appalachia. Right off the bat, let me say – this book isn’t for the faint of heart. Kingsolver holds nothing back in her unflinching portrayal of generational poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, and a thousand oth ..read more

Publisher: Ballantine Books First Publication: 2021 Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Listen up, folks – if you’ve been sorely missing that exhilarating shot of pure, uncut scientific ingenuity in your reading diet, Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary is about to course-correct your nourishment big time. This audacious, enormously propulsive sci-fi mind-gamer isn’t just a wildly entertaining yarn about an unlikeliest-of-heroes science genius trying to save humanity. It’s a downright immersive universe unto itself, one jam-packed with so much real-world scientific verisimilitude a ..read more

Publisher: William Morrow First Publication: 2021 Book Review: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn Kate Quinn has quickly become one of historical fiction’s most enthralling voices, seamlessly blending meticulous period research with emotionally rich, quietly subversive character studies set against the backdrop of World War II‘s most fascinating secret chapters. With The Rose Code, she’s delivered yet another compulsively readable tour de force—an intricate tale of valor, sacrifice, and the extraordinarily ordinary heroines whose codebreaking genius at Bletchley Park helped turn the tide against ..read more